Young: Mitt's chances improve with 'immigration'
Young: Mitt's chances improve with 'immigration'
By Peter B. Young/Local columnist
GHS
Far be it from me to downplay or downgrade in any way Mitt Romney's chances in next year's quadrennial Presidential Derby. That said, most Massachusetts Democrats will tell you that regardless of their own personal views on the man, our former Republican governor is always a formidable candidate. And he is never more formidable than when he finds a critical issue that he is uniquely equipped to exploit.
He may have found that issue in the current free-for-all over so-called "comprehensive immigration reform."
But before we get to that, tick off these obvious Romney assets: He is (1) rich, (2) free of scandal, (3) articulate, (4) disciplined, (5) leader of a splendid family, (6) movie star handsome, and the list goes on.
What's not to like?
Well, perhaps we can leave that question for another column on another day.
But today's column will deal with candidate Romney's continuing, dogged fight to win the hearts and minds of Republican conservatives across the country, especially in such early primary states as Iowa, New Hampshire, and South Carolina.
He is just now beginning to show some modest signs of success in this quixotic endeavor, and he may even be positioned for more success on the gut issue of our time, immigration reform.
While pursuing these influential conservatives, who dominate most Republican primary elections, Romney has not hesitated to go with the flow and adjust his previous positions notably on such social issues as abortion. All politicians, Democrats as well as Republican, do this sort of thing all the time. But it can be argued that Romney takes this standard political practice into a new dimension as he continues his transition from blue state Massachusetts into the red states of conservative-dominated Republican primaries.
In most national polls of Republican voters, our former governor is still mired in single digits - significantly behind such political mischief-makers as Rudy Giuliani of New York, U.S. Senator John McCain of Arizona, and also the undeclared, but prospectively potent candidacies of Newt Gingrich and former U.S. Senator Fred Thompson.
Yet, when the pollsters narrow their samples to a single state like Iowa, New Hampshire, or South Carolina, Mitt Romney does much better, and is still very much within striking distance of leaders like Giuliani and the increasingly irascible McCain, both of whom have serious problems with the GOP base of conservatives.
Indeed, Giuliani and McCain may have problems even more serious than Romney's with that GOP base. In fact, the latest state-wide poll out of Iowa shows Romney now running comfortably ahead of the aforementioned Giuliani and McCain.
But until now, what Romney has been missing is a critical issue or message that he can stake out and claim for his own. Rudy Giuliani can recall his role as America's mayor in the immediate wake of the 9/11 terror attacks. John McCain can continue as perhaps the one and only cheerleader for the misbegotten war(s) in Iraq and Afghanistan. That has left Mr. Romney bringing up the rear with lame jokes about the agonies of dealing with liberal Democrats in the Massachusetts legislature.
However, with details finally emerging on the widely criticized "deal" for immigration reform, Romney is at last positioned to further improve his standing in those critical polls. That is because the horrendous, bipartisan mess we have made with immigration reform and regulation during the last 20 years has left this beleaguered country caught between a rock and a hard place. Our schools, hospitals, prisons and other such facilities are all staggering under a continuing tidal wave of illegal immigrants.
This is a situation that just may cry out for the kind of crisp, diligent, systematic, corporate-style leadership that has always been part of Romney's tool kit.
Democrats, here and elsewhere, had better believe that Mitt Romney now sees his opening and, in the words of the late Coach Vince Lombardi, will attempt an historic "run to daylight."
Peter Young's column appears every other Tuesday.
By Peter B. Young/Local columnist
GHS
Far be it from me to downplay or downgrade in any way Mitt Romney's chances in next year's quadrennial Presidential Derby. That said, most Massachusetts Democrats will tell you that regardless of their own personal views on the man, our former Republican governor is always a formidable candidate. And he is never more formidable than when he finds a critical issue that he is uniquely equipped to exploit.
He may have found that issue in the current free-for-all over so-called "comprehensive immigration reform."
But before we get to that, tick off these obvious Romney assets: He is (1) rich, (2) free of scandal, (3) articulate, (4) disciplined, (5) leader of a splendid family, (6) movie star handsome, and the list goes on.
What's not to like?
Well, perhaps we can leave that question for another column on another day.
But today's column will deal with candidate Romney's continuing, dogged fight to win the hearts and minds of Republican conservatives across the country, especially in such early primary states as Iowa, New Hampshire, and South Carolina.
He is just now beginning to show some modest signs of success in this quixotic endeavor, and he may even be positioned for more success on the gut issue of our time, immigration reform.
While pursuing these influential conservatives, who dominate most Republican primary elections, Romney has not hesitated to go with the flow and adjust his previous positions notably on such social issues as abortion. All politicians, Democrats as well as Republican, do this sort of thing all the time. But it can be argued that Romney takes this standard political practice into a new dimension as he continues his transition from blue state Massachusetts into the red states of conservative-dominated Republican primaries.
In most national polls of Republican voters, our former governor is still mired in single digits - significantly behind such political mischief-makers as Rudy Giuliani of New York, U.S. Senator John McCain of Arizona, and also the undeclared, but prospectively potent candidacies of Newt Gingrich and former U.S. Senator Fred Thompson.
Yet, when the pollsters narrow their samples to a single state like Iowa, New Hampshire, or South Carolina, Mitt Romney does much better, and is still very much within striking distance of leaders like Giuliani and the increasingly irascible McCain, both of whom have serious problems with the GOP base of conservatives.
Indeed, Giuliani and McCain may have problems even more serious than Romney's with that GOP base. In fact, the latest state-wide poll out of Iowa shows Romney now running comfortably ahead of the aforementioned Giuliani and McCain.
But until now, what Romney has been missing is a critical issue or message that he can stake out and claim for his own. Rudy Giuliani can recall his role as America's mayor in the immediate wake of the 9/11 terror attacks. John McCain can continue as perhaps the one and only cheerleader for the misbegotten war(s) in Iraq and Afghanistan. That has left Mr. Romney bringing up the rear with lame jokes about the agonies of dealing with liberal Democrats in the Massachusetts legislature.
However, with details finally emerging on the widely criticized "deal" for immigration reform, Romney is at last positioned to further improve his standing in those critical polls. That is because the horrendous, bipartisan mess we have made with immigration reform and regulation during the last 20 years has left this beleaguered country caught between a rock and a hard place. Our schools, hospitals, prisons and other such facilities are all staggering under a continuing tidal wave of illegal immigrants.
This is a situation that just may cry out for the kind of crisp, diligent, systematic, corporate-style leadership that has always been part of Romney's tool kit.
Democrats, here and elsewhere, had better believe that Mitt Romney now sees his opening and, in the words of the late Coach Vince Lombardi, will attempt an historic "run to daylight."
Peter Young's column appears every other Tuesday.
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